(FIFA.com) 27 May 2005
With the Oceania (OFC) Club Championship set to kick off in Tahiti on 31 May, the cream of the South Seas are getting set to book a place among the big boys at the FIFA Club World Championship Toyota Cup Japan 2005. With only one spot and a significant payday up for grabs, the 11-days of battle in French Polynesia are bound to be nothing short of thrilling. Join FIFA.com for a closer look at the Oceania hopefuls as they get set to challenge for a coveted spot in Tokyo.
Thankfully, Littbarski will have Oz international David Zdrilic in the team.
Group 1
Sydney FC (Australia)
Auckland City FC (New Zealand)
Sobou FC (Papua New Guinea)
AS Pirae (Tahiti)
Sydney FC
Tipped as the flagship side of the soon-to-be-launched Hyundai A-League in Australia, the capital club have a three-time FIFA World Cup veteran and winner at the helm in the form of diminutive German ace Pierre Littbarski. Recently crowned champions of Australia after edging Central Coast Mariners in the final of the Australian qualifying round robin, the boys from the capital are considered prohibitive favourites to take the laurels in Tahiti. But they will need to do so without a number of their marquee signings, including former Manchester United great Dwight Yorke – who is not expected to turn out for the club until late June at the earliest. “I have no idea what the opposition will be like, but you can be sure we will underestimate no-one,” Littbarski recently remarked. Underestimating anyone, especially with only a small squad to work with, would be a crucial error on Sydney’s part.
Auckland City FC
Defending Kiwi champions Auckland City should represent a stiff test for their trans-Tasman rivals Sydney in a glittering opening match to the Tahitian festivities. Widely regarded as the Aussies’ most obvious stumbling block in the competition, the Auckland side defeated Waitekere United in a dramatic encounter, which finished 3-2 to take last year’s New Zealand top-flight title. Helped by the goals of South African Grant Young and former New Zealand youth international Paul-Mark Urlovic, who scored 15 and 14 respectively in the most recent domestic campaign, the Kiwis will be no pushover and are widely respected as favourites to secure a semi-final berth. Described by coach Allan Jones as a: “hard-working, tough-tackling team,” they are most certainly not all blood and thunder. Aside from a fearsome strike force, captain Neil Sykes brings a touch of class to the team as well.
Sobou FC
Though still in their developmental years as regards organised football, the people of Papua New Guinea have a true passion for the game. And with a population larger than New Zealand, PNG is bound to be an Oceania contender in the near future. The club game in Papua New Guinea is still largely regional in nature, but Sobou FC are no doubt the proud standard bearers of the island nations’ footballing scene. Having won the last four national titles since 2002, the Sobou side are known for an admirable devotion to the purer elements of the game, attacking all the way.
AS Pirae
Playing at home in the confines of their Stade Pater, Pirae will be hoping to spring a surprise on their more illustrious opponents. One of few clubs in Tahiti and its neighbouring islands with the official status of ‘professional’, they are considered the flagship team from the picturesque island nation. They were crowned Polynesian champions in 2000 and are defending Tahitian Cup champions. The home side, who tend to lay claim to some of the best players in Polynesia, will be one to watch. With Tahiti’s club league one of the most organised in the region (with five senior divisions); the big boys surely should beware of AS Pirae.
Group 2
Tafea FC (Vanuatu)
Makuru FC (Solomon Islands)
AS Magenta (New Caledonia)
AS Manu Ura (Tahiti)
Tafea FC
Champions Tafea are unquestionably tiny Vanuatu’s top footballing club side. Though without an organised national league, the club has been named Vanuatu champions each year since 2000. With access to most of country’s best prospects, the club is a dominant force. A number of the island’s national team players are plucked from Tafea’s formidable ranks. After playing a preliminary round in Tonga, the Vanuatu champions are no strangers to the continental stage. Two years ago they reached the final of the OFC club championship in Papua New Guinea where they lost out to Aussie side Wallongong Wolves. “We will rally support from other clubs to defend our national pride at this prestigious tournament,” club president Jean-Pierre Nirua recently remarked.
Makuru FC
In an attempt to enhance their chances of success at the upcoming OFC championship, scores of Solomon Islands football supporters – regardless of club affiliation – will be making the trip to Tahiti to shout on Makuru. The champions of the Solomon Islands are led by coach and former national team goalkeeper Silas Milikada, who is keen to get the outsiders in with a few good performances in Tahiti. “This will be a tough competition, but we will do our best to make our supporters proud,” he said. One of the fastest developing countries in the region, the Solomon Islands will take part in a home/away playoff with Australia in September to decide which side will face South America’s fifth-place finisher for a spot at the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany™. A number of the national team players come from Makuru.
AS Magenta
New Caledonia’s biggest claim to footballing fame is as the birthplace of former French international and FIFA World Cup™ winner Christian Karembeu. A victory at the OFC Club Championship for domestic champions Magenta may well rival that little titbit in the annals of the nation’s sporting history. Magenta became the first team to qualify for the 2005 Oceania Club Championship when they thrashed Cook Islands leading team Nikao over two legs in February.
AS Manu Ura
Defending Tahitian champions, Manu Ura will be hoping – like Pirae – to take full advantage of the familiar atmosphere. Rising to the top of the pile in the most recent Tahitian championship, Manu Ura are considered a precociously talented squad, though given to occasional fits of disorganisation and naivety. But with the promise of a berth at the FIFA Club World Championship, plus the prestige and financial boost associated with it, the team will surely be keen to put their best foot forward when kick-off comes around on 31 May.
